The most important Africa related news story of the summer has just arrived. Mr. Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court has formally requested an arrest warrant for Sudan’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Mr. Al-Bashir thereby becomes the first international leader accused of the highest crimes against humanity. Mr. Moreno-Ocampo declared he has found [...]

Tomorrow’s potential indictment of the Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been giving birth to anxious debates around the world. Everyone is worried about it, regardless of what part of the argument they find suitable with their beliefs. In this case, Africans cannot play the racist card because a) al-Bashir [...]

Major blow to democracy and free elections A Security Council draft resolution to impose severe sanctions on Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, and some of his closest allies was just vetoed by Russia and China. Both powers have argued that such measures are not necessary. Rarely do super-powers veto resolutions. However, the fragrant difference of opinion [...]

Tuesday was definitely one of the roughest days for both supporters and opponents of economic and political sanctions against Zimbabwe. They had to face their new “enemies” in the UN Security Council and stand up for their cause. Definitely not the best situation to find yourself in especially when there’s no general consensus on the [...]

[ad#banner] Three Indian army officers have received a written warning over allegations of gold trafficking in the Democratic Republic of Congo, BCC Africa reports. This measure is a part of a much larger investigation started by the United Nations about three months ago when UN officials have expressed their fears that some of the UN [...]

[ad#googlelung] The situation in Somalia is out of control. High officials, diplomats, bureaucrats, UN aid workers, medical volunteers, veterans and regular people who have absolutely nothing to do with this war are constantly targeted by insurgent Islamists. Since 1991, Somalia has been engaged in the most critical civil war the African continent has witnessed in [...]

[ad#googlelung] Mugabe recently warned his neighbors to think twice before attacking his legitimacy on the continent. This is one if not the only threatening declaration Robert Mugabe has made in the recent years against his neighboring countries. Without naming exactly the state his statement was directed to, it is safe to assume that he was [...]

The idea of a state is a rather new one. Statehood as a prerequisite for legitimate recognition has only appeared subsequent to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Nowadays, the same “Westphalia principles” apply to the notion of the state: a state has the authority, legitimacy, autonomy, and the right to determine its own fate. [...]

If there is anyone I would hate to be these days, it would be one of the members of the African Union’ Assembly. Since its inception in 2002, the AU has had difficult problems to deal with, but nothing has been as critical and complicated as the Zimbabwean elections this year. In the last 6 [...]

Seeing President Mbeki and President Mugabe holding hands in a public celebration in Zimbabwe makes any reasonable person feel nauseous. It wouldn’t be the first such opportunity though: When Mobutu Sese Seko was praised by the world’s most influential leaders as one of the greatest African symbols of diplomacy; When Mengistu was able to bypass [...]